I like how Elisha doesn't wait until he has a free day or a convenient time but leaves the very next morning to figure out if this is all real. Also, in traveling to the cave, he puts forth his best effort, working in faith, then is led by the Spirit the rest of the way as he hacks through the forest for three hours. It's also seems odd that he would have a strong feeling to leave after finding the cave; it seems that this experience was simply to confirm the reality of his vision and/or test his faith and not to recover the plates. His meeting with the American, Oleeha (more on him in the next post), also dissuades his skepticism. Except for these witnesses he would've gone away believing the whole situation was all a hoax or cruel trick played on him.
On top of this, Oleeha promises Elisha that there will come a time when the plates will be able to be tested. (In Ruman 8, the last chapter of the Aklatan, we learn that this will happen after their kingdom is established and temple built.) As an archaeologist, I find it fascinating that Oleeha would give such a promise. There is not a similar one (aside from vague generalizations about things coming to light in the future) that I can find recorded by Joseph Smith regarding the records he translated (though I swear there was something similar in an early section of the Doctrine & Covenants, but I can't find it). But it seems in this case, as in many others, that he is (and we are) to walk by faith for a time, then after a trial period of indeterminate length, a witness or proof of truth will come (see Ether 12:6).
We have some hint as to what these plates could look like in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the earliest known written document from the Philippines. (You can find its Wikipedia page HERE.) Basically, it was an inscription dating to AD 900 written on a sheet of copper about the size of modern paper and describing the forgiveness of debts of certain individuals. It was found in 1989 (so a few years after Elisha's experiences in the Book of Visions), but it's importance wasn't realized until it made its way to the National Museum a few years later, where it was translated by Dutch anthropologist. Aside from the now-known fact that ancient Filipinos inscribed records on metal plates, as described with the Aklatan, the Laguna inscription records personal and place names that are also found in later books of the Aklatan (Buka, Namwaran, Tundun, etc.).
As another test of Elisha's faith (and with which to prove God as well), Oleeha asks him not to tell anyone of this for three months (autumnal equinox), and if nothing miraculous has happened by that time, he can do whatever he wants with the cave. (We'll see in Chapter 3, that God keeps his promise, and something miraculous does occur before that time.) This reminded me of Mary, the mother of Jesus, keeping and treasuring up her own miraculous experiences surrounding Jesus' birth and early life and pondering them in her heart until they were recorded at a much later date. Similarly, Boyd K. Packer taught:
On top of this, Oleeha promises Elisha that there will come a time when the plates will be able to be tested. (In Ruman 8, the last chapter of the Aklatan, we learn that this will happen after their kingdom is established and temple built.) As an archaeologist, I find it fascinating that Oleeha would give such a promise. There is not a similar one (aside from vague generalizations about things coming to light in the future) that I can find recorded by Joseph Smith regarding the records he translated (though I swear there was something similar in an early section of the Doctrine & Covenants, but I can't find it). But it seems in this case, as in many others, that he is (and we are) to walk by faith for a time, then after a trial period of indeterminate length, a witness or proof of truth will come (see Ether 12:6).
We have some hint as to what these plates could look like in the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the earliest known written document from the Philippines. (You can find its Wikipedia page HERE.) Basically, it was an inscription dating to AD 900 written on a sheet of copper about the size of modern paper and describing the forgiveness of debts of certain individuals. It was found in 1989 (so a few years after Elisha's experiences in the Book of Visions), but it's importance wasn't realized until it made its way to the National Museum a few years later, where it was translated by Dutch anthropologist. Aside from the now-known fact that ancient Filipinos inscribed records on metal plates, as described with the Aklatan, the Laguna inscription records personal and place names that are also found in later books of the Aklatan (Buka, Namwaran, Tundun, etc.).
I have come to believe also that it is not wise to continually talk of unusual spiritual experiences. They are to be guarded with care and shared only when the Spirit itself prompts you to use them to the blessing of others. I am ever mindful of Alma's words:
It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. (Alma 12:9)
I heard President Marion G. Romney once counsel mission presidents and their wives in Geneva, "I do not tell all I know; I have never told my wife all I know, for I found out that if I talked too lightly of sacred things, thereafter the Lord would not trust me."
We are, I believe, to keep these things and ponder them in our hearts, as Luke said Mary did of the supernal events that surrounded the birth of Jesus. (see Luke 2:19)Oleeha ends his visit with Elisha with what seems to be a personal worthiness interview of sorts, asking about his faith in general and belief in Christ, specifically. He leaves saying God will show him how to find Elisha later on, just as He had shown him how to find Elisha at that time and how he'd known about Elisha's vision and search for the cave.
Brad, my question is about the Laguna supporting the Aklatan. Are those names and places mentioned in any other documents, or are they current city names or places that people would recognize?
ReplyDeleteThe place names are all identifiable to sites in the Philippines and Indonesia, though you'd probably have to be a historian of the region to recognize some of them. The one that connects the Aklatan, the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (LCI), and modern times is the Kingdom of Tundun, which is now Tondo, an area of Manila. This kingdom was central to the story of Namwaran (which we'll get to later in the Book of Namwaran.)
ReplyDeleteThe LCI is the earliest known written record in the Philippines, so personal names from the period are unknown. However, the name Namwaran is mentioned in both the Aklatan and the LCI, with both describing a man highly regarded in the Kingdom of Tundun. The name Buka(h) is also found in both: in the Aklatan, one of Christ's 12, who lived centuries before Namwaran; in the LCI, the son of Namwaran.